More than 200 students from Trinity College Dublin converged on the Chinese embassy in Dublin last week to protest at the imprisonment in Beijing and alleged torture of a former classmate.

Zhao Ming (30), a postgrad computer-science student and former tutor, was arrested on a visit home last Christmas because of his membership of the outlawed spiritual movement, Falun Gong. He was since sentenced to two years at the Tuan He Farm labour camp.

Protesters at Wednesday's demonstration, organised by Trinity's Graduate Students' Union, occupied the embassy grounds before being expelled by gardai. They also removed the embassy flag from its pole and handed in a letter of protest to embassy staff.